Run number one.

Today we ran "The Moor's Pavane" in costume for the first time since we began combing through all of the details. I can tell this is going to be even more special of an experience than I had imagined. I am discovering how far simplicity can go in playing the villain. It's delicious! I must say though that after I play this role I always feel that I need to take a bath. The character is absolutely slimy! The best way to describe him is as a foul smell that creeps up on you. I have a quote that I'd like to share that has really helped me as I've been working on Iago. My friend who is playing Amelia (Iago's wife/pawn) is the one who found it and gave it to me.

The great nineteenth-century actor Booth wrote about playing Iago: "To portray Iago properly you must seem to be what all the characters think, and say, you are, not what the spectators know you to be; try to win even them by your sincerity. Don't act the villain, don't look it, or speak it, (by scowling and growling, I mean), but think it all the time. Be genial, sometimes jovial, always gentlemanly. Quick in motion as in thought; lithe and sinuous as a snake."

It's my goal to accomplish a portrayal of the role that encompasses this guidance. I love the challenge!